Feed-regulator for roller-mills



(No Model.)

E. STRONG.

FEED REGULATOR FUR ROLLER MILLS;

No. 333,570. Patented Jan 5,1886.

I \A/hwsses Div/6222021 N. FnzRsI Fhowmrw n w. Walhinghn. u. c.

p i UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ELI STRONG, OF KALAMAZOO, MICHIGAN.

FEED-REGULATOR FOR ROLLER-MILLS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 333,570, dated January 5, 1886.

7 Application filed April 14, 1885. Serial No. 162,152. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, ELI STRONG, a citizen of the United States, residing at Kalamazoo, county of Kalamazoo, State of Michigan, have invented a new and useful Feed-Regulator for Roller-Mills, of which the following is a specification.

This invention has for its object an improved construction and combination of parts designed to increase the utility and facilitate the opera tion of this class of feed-regulators.

In the drawings forming a part of this speci fication, Figure l is a side view of Fig. 2, looking from a point at the left hand of the latternamed figure, with the lower portion of the easing removed. Fig. 2 is an end elevation with the casing removed, looking from a point at the right hand of Fig. 1; and Fig. 3 is a vertical section on the dotted line 00 w in Fig. 1.

Referring to the drawings and the letters marked thereon,B represents the mill-hopper,

in which the grain is delivered from a spout,

O, in the usual manner. In Fig. 2 it will be seen that the side walls of the hopper converge toward their base, at which point is the commonly-used feed-roller P, which, when revolving, causes the grain to pass through the gate a when said gate is raised and fall between the grinding-rolls D, the latter being common and well understood. It is desirable that the grain in the hopper shall. be distributed the full length of the roller 1?, so that it will feed evenly the full length of the grinding-rolls D. Fig. 1 illustrates these parts as regards length in relation to the feed-gate a. This feed-gate slides up and down inits operation. The tendency of the grain falling from the spout G is to pile up in the center of the hopper, in which case the grain would not be distributed the full length of the feed-roller P until the hopper had become suficiently full of grain to cause the latter to spread over the ends of the feed-roll as well as to be deposited over its central portion hence the well-known object of feed-regulators is to keep the hopper sufficiently full of grain, so that the latter will always be distributed the full length of the roll, as before stated, and which will appear more clearly explained below. Levers r r for operating the gate are passed through the slotted plates u u, and are adapted to rock 011 the lower edge of the slot, as in Fig. 2, at each end of the hopper,

Fig. 1. The levers r r are bent on a downward incline within the hopper and are conlevers r1 by rods 0 c, Fig. 1. The rods 0 c are held in place by being passed through guide-lugs of the casting R. The outer ends of the levers a" r are perforated. and provided on their upper sides with concave pockets.

The upper ends of the rods 0 c are provided with headsf, having rounded or convert portions on their under sides, adapted to rock in the pockets at the perforated ends of the le vers r r, the rods 0 0 being loosely located in said slots, all so arranged that when the bridge h tilts up and down,the rods 0 cand connected gate a will play vertically. A rod, o, is connected centrally with the gate a, and is loosely passed up through a central lug of the casting B, Fig. 1. The rod 22 is provided with aspring, y, and a tension-nut, s, for governing the ten sion of the spring. The office of the spring 3 is to press down on the gate to close it. Thus the gate is raised against spring-resistance, the action of which resistance is a constant effort to overbalance the power which raises the gate. The tension of the spring yis controlled by the nut s, the design being to fix the tension so that the grain will fillthe hopper sufficiently full to spread the full length of the feed-roller P before the gate rises,and to keep, substantially, a like amount of grain in the hopper during the operation-that is, not less than the proper amount to cover the roller 1?. The purpose is to so proportion the parts that the grain will fill up in the hopper above the bridge h, and bear down on said bridge to 0p erate the gate, and that when said action takes place the roller will be covered the full length with grain; and as the grain on the bridge thus automatically operates the gate in connection with the resistance of the spring 3 should the grain feed faster than the supply the gate will lower, and,on the other hand,the

filled up in the hopper the desired height and above and onto the bridge. Thus the action of the feed-gate is more prompt and regular when it does act, and only acts when the hopper is full enough of grain to always insure a spread of the grain over the entire length of the feed-ro1ler. An adjustable stop, t, is connected with the hopper-case over the top of the rod 1; to limit the upward movement of the gate a. This stop will be rarely needed; but an instance, among others, when it will be found useful is when the supply of grain is so great as to fill the hopper and even accumulate in the spout O, in which case the grain might feed faster than desirable, owing to the unusual weight bearing down on the bridge h if the stop if was not employed to limit the rise of the gate.

Deeming the operation of my invention sufficiently explained, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

' 1. The combination of the feedgate, the operating-levers fulcruined in the casing, the inner ends of the levers bearing a bridge, the outer ends having the perforated concave pockets, the feed-gate, the rods having the rounded heads in said pockets, an upwardly-extending rod bearing a spring forming a resistance against the rise of the feed-gate, said rod centrally connecting the gate, and an adjustable stop secured to the casing in position to limit the upward movement of the spring-bearing rod, substantially as set forth.

2. The combination of the feed-gate,operating-levers centrally fulcrumed in the casing, rods connecting the ends of the gate with the outer ends of the levers, an upwardly-extending rod centrally connecting the gate and bearing a spring, forming a resistance against the rise of the feed-gate, an adjustable stop secured to the casing in position to contact with the spring-bearing rod in its upward movement, and a vertically-tilting b'ridge connecting the inner ends of the operating-levers and disconnected from the hopper-casing, substantially as set forth.

In testimony of the foregoing I have here unto subscribed my name in presence of two witnesses.

ELI STRONG.

Witnesses:

RALPH LITTLER, WM. MCDONALD. 

